Starter for automobile engines



March 3, 1931- c. R. MARTINEAU 1,795,030

STARTER FOR AUTOMOBILE ENGINES Filed June 19, 1930 muenfarx Xmm 6 1/ @6 Patented Mar. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES CLARENCE R. MARTINEAU, "OF YORK STARTER FOR AUTOMOBILE ENGINES Application filed June 19,

This invention relates to means for starting the gas engine of an automobile. i

The car isprovided with a battery, which isconnected to a starting motor. When the motor is operated, it causes a pinion to engage a gear' provided upon the crank-shaft of the engine, thereby rotating the crankshaft, this mechanism being known as a Bendix drive gear; the pinion being selfengaging with the gear and also self-disengaging therefrom.

When the car is in use, the battery is be ing constantly recharged by means of a small dynamo which is always driven by the engine. In warm weather, when the car is used for long drives, the battery is liable to, become overcharged and injured, and its life is shortened. Moreover the battery, since it must meet the exigency of starting a cold en- 29 gine, has to hem large, heavy and costly as to be objectionable. g

In cool weather, when the car is generally used only for short drives and the battery is frequently drawn upon to start the engine,

' and also subjected to prolonged demand for current for the-lights, the battery. becomes depleted and injured, reducing its life.

It is a desideratum that the car he kept in an inexpensive unheated garage, usually upon the premises of the owner of the car, and in cold weather the engine oil hardens and gums, and the engine is hard to start. In attempting to start the cold engine, the driver often draws heavily uponthe battery that is 3 already partly exhausted, and in many cases is unable to start the engine, so that the battery becomes completely exhausted, and it becomes necessary to send it to a public garage to be recharged. e V

The object of the present improvements is to overcome the aforesaid difliculties, to reduce the size, weight and cost of the battery,

7 and prolong its life, and also to overcome the difiiculty of starting a cold engine in severe weather.

In order to obtain these results, I mount in the car an auxiliary motor, which is independent of the car-battery, and is connected by a cable to any electric-light plug in the wall of the garage. The auxiliary mo- 1930. Serial No. 462,210.

tor is of a type to be driven at high speed by an ordinary lighting current. This fast auxiliary motor is connected by movement-reducing gearing to the shaft of the main starting motor, so that said shaft is caused to revolve, and its pinion is caus'ed to mesh with r the large gear provided upon the .crank -shaft of the engine. Hence theengine may be started solely by the current coming in from the lighting main into the auxiliary engine, Without depleting the car-battery.

\ A switch may be provided upon the dashboard of the car for disconnecting the auxiliary motor as soon as the engine starts. The cable of the auxiliary motor may be disconnectible from the electric-light plug in the main motor will be sufficient for starting the warm engine. A one-way driving clutch is provided between the main motor and the auxiliary motor, to enable the main motor to beworked by the car-battery without operating the auxiliary motor.

Since no exigency or extraordinary demand is placed upon the battery when starting the cold engine, the battery may be reduced in size, weight and cost. Similar reduction can bemade in the battery-charging dynamo.

Heretofore it was the practice, when the car was undergoing repairs, to start theengine,

and run it while the carstood inthe garage, and this was'found to be objectionable, because of the poisonous gas expelledfrom the engine, and also because the heating of the engine made the same difiicult for the repairman to handle, and rendered him liable to bQ-n come severely burned. According to he present invention, it is only necessary to connect the auxiliary motor of the car to the electriclight plug in the wall of the garage, whereupon (the sparking switch being left open) the engine may be driven for an indefinite period, at such speed as required by the repair-man, and without heating the engine.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear. 7

In the accompanying drawings or diagrams,

Figure 1 is a part-sectional plan of an automobile having an engine provided with the present improvements.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation, illustrating the one-way driving connection between the main motor and the auxiliary motor. I

Figure 3 is an elevation of a fragment of the dashboard, showing the stopping and starting switch for the auxiliary motor.

The engine 10 has a crank-shaft 11, upon which is provided the usual driving gear 12. Thisis operable by a pinion 13 of a Bendix starting gear of usual construction, controlled by the usual floor-button 14. Said button closes a circuit 15 that includes the battery 16 and the main motor 17, whose shaft has a screw-device 18 for meshing the driving 'pinion- 13 with the crank-shaft Spring 19 usually forms part of the Bendix gear 12.

drive.

The battery 16 is charged automatically. by the usual means, not shown, butthis bat l .Qhe gear31. is connected to the shaft 32 by tery in any car may be substantially reduced in size as compared with the standard battery for that car.- The battery does not need to have suflicient power and capacityto start the cold engine in severest'weather, as here tofore, as the battery Will rarely,'ife.ver, .be

called upon to start the motor when it is severely cold. The reduced size battery shown will be charged sufliciently during the.

running of the car to replenish such power as is consumed in starting the warm engine for ordinary traflic. If the car is parked, the engine may remain warm for hours, so that the small battery will still suffice to start it under ordinary-favorable condition of the ignition devices, etc.

In severest winter weather, when the oil is sluggish and the engine-mechanism 1s gummed, and works stifliy, the main motor 17 may not receive enough power from the battery 16. to start the engine with suflicient speed. As a result the battery becomes more depleted from the unsuccessful attempts to crank the engine. The car-driver, however,

may call into requisition an auxiliary motor- 20, which is mounted upon the engine in the same manner as is usual for the m in motor 17. This auxiliary motor isconnecte y a wire 21 to a switch 22, mounted on the dash-board 23. An extension cable consisting of sepa-' rable links 24, 25 (coupled at 26 by'ordinary plugs) carries at its free end an ordinaryv be started before disconnecting the wall-' plug 27, the coupling 26 will separate, thus avoiding any damage.

When the switch 22 is closed, the auxiliary motor 20, which revolves at very high speed, operates through its small pinion 28 to drive a large gear 29, the latter having a small pinion 30 meshing with a large gear 31 connected to the extended shaft 32 of the main motor 17. This movement-reducing gearing permits the use of an electric-light current of low amperage from the motor to turn the pinion 13 at the requisite slower speed. The Bendix mechanism13, 18, 19, therefore is operated by the motor 20 to connect up the latter to the gear 12, since said auxiliary motor 20 turns the shaft 32 which carries the usual Bendix screw-device 18 .for traversing the pinion 13.

When the switch 22 is turned to starting position, thebutton 14 may be concomitantly operated to connect up the battery-circuit 15, 16, to. drive the main motor 17, so that the -motors-may operate in tandem.

lie-Way driving clutch 33, to enable theauxiliary motor 20 to drive the main motorshaft 32, to permit said shaft 32 to revolve while the motor 20 remains stationary, when the car is out onthe road.

When the car is undergoing repairs, the' plug 27 ma be connected to a light-switch of the garag and-when required the engine may be' operated slowly without becoming heated.

It will be perceived that the auxiliary motor may be plugged into the garage-lampsocket to start the engine whenever it is desired to operate the ear in warm weather as 1. The combination of an internal combustion engine for automobiles having a main engine-starting motor and shaft, a battery therefor, mechanism driven by said motor for starting said engine, and an auxiliary motor connected to drive said starting mechamsm, said auxiliary motor being of h1"hspeed type to be operable by an ordinary lighting current; movement-reducing gearing forming a connection between the auxiliary motor and the shaft of the main starting motor.

2. The combination with an automobile in- I ternal combustion engine, of a starting device I able said motors to co-operate to start the including a Bendix mechanism having a shaft, a high-speed-motor operable by ordinary electric-light current and connected by movement-reducing caring to said Bendix starter, said automobile having a battery, and a starting motor connected to said battery to be operable thereby for starting the engine independently of the first-mentioned motor, said first-mentioned motor being capable of starting the engine independently of said battery.

3. In an automobile-internal coihbustion engine, the. combination of a main starting motor having a shaft for starting the en 'ne, a battery for driving the motor, an auxi iary motor operable by ordinary electric-light current, and means connecting the auxiliary motor to said shaft of the main motor, to enengine, said auxiliary motor being connected to said shaft of said main motor by means of a one-way driving clutch, to permit the main motor to rotate while the auxiliary motor is stationary.

4. In an automobile internal combustion engine, the combination of a main starting motor having a shaft for starting the engine, a battery for driving the motor, an auxiliary motor operable by ordinary electric-light current, and means connecting the auxiliary motor to said shaft of the mam motor, to enable said motors to co-operate to start the engine, said connecting means including movementreducing gearing between said auxiliary motor and said shaft of said main motor.

5. In an automobile internal combustion engine, the combination of a main starting motor having a shaft for, starting the engine, a battery for driving the motor, an auxiliary motor operable by ordinary electriclight current, and means connecting the auxiliary motor to said shaft of the main motor, to enable said motors to co-operate to start the engine, said auxiliary motor having a small pinion, a large gear meshing with said pinion, a second small, pinion connected to said large gear, and a second large gear upon said shaft of the main motor.

' CLARENCE R. MARTINEAU 

